Sacred headwaters

Good people doing good things for good places. There seems to be a lot of that going around lately. Unfortunately that’s because there are bad people doing bad things to good places. These good places need our help.

Photo by Brian Huntington

One such good place is the Skeena Watershed, in Northwestern British Columbia (that’s in Canada). If you look at a map of many rivers that make up the Skeena watershed, it reads like a Who’s Who list of world-renowned steelhead rivers: the Skeena is the namesake river of the region, with tribs such as the Morice, Bulkley, Babine and Kispiox, to name just a few. You’ve heard of them. If you haven’t here’s an article from Midcurrent that will get you in the mood to go: British Columbia: Rivers of Steel

I’ve never been (yet), but it’s near the top of my bucket list, and I have a preconceived idea of an area that is pristine and wild; unpolluted if not untouched by man. But like the Bristol Bay region in Alaska, another pristine watershed, the Skeena has been threatened by corporate greed. In a nutshell, here’s the scoop:

In 2004, Shell Canada (now Royal Dutch Shell) was awarded a 400,000 hectare tenure to develop coalbed methane (CBM) in the Sacred Headwaters in northwest British Columbia. Due to massive opposition throughout the region and within the Province of BC, the BC Government made a great decision and imposed a 4 year moratorium stalling the development in its tracks. That moratorium expires this December!! Learn how to help—see more at Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition Sacred Headwaters Campaign

Which brings us to a special auction event taking place March 3-7, 2014: The Skeena Angler’s Auction. During this fund raising event you can buy some gear, the proceeds from which will go toward continuing to fight this battle. Check out the auction items here—surely there’s something you need or want. Or maybe you neither need nor want for anything, but you want to contribute to the cause. Whatever the case, please consider helping. There are some great items from Patagonia, Hardy, St. Croix, Rainbow Alley Cane Fly Rods, Loon Outdoors, Wilson’s Fergus Fly Shop, Skeena Wild Conservation Trust, Clear Cure Goo, Valley Custom Rods, a whole bunch of different fly selections.